What if the greatest journey is one that leads us back to ourselves?

Claire lives an ordinary life, splitting her days between a quiet office and a painting studio where five blank canvases refuse to reveal what they are meant to become. Then a mysterious trip to a train station changes everything.

A single red carnation. A stranger who seems oddly familiar. A journey that leaves her awakening in places she cannot explain, surrounded by people who already seem to know her.

As fragments of memory surface, so do fragments of other lives—people, places, and moments that feel both distant and strangely familiar. Claire recognizes she is part of a far greater story—one that stretches across worlds, cultures, and lifetimes–where patterns begin to emerge, suggesting that what appears separate may never have been separate at all.

Blending speculative fiction with philosophical exploration, red carnation is a non-linear, abstract, metaphysical puzzle of a story that borders on science fiction. Rather than following a straight path, it invites the reader to move through memory, creativity, consciousness, and the invisible threads that connect one life to another.

Follow the familiar.

Book Details

Publisher: ‎ Observation Deck Press
Ebook Publication Date: ‎ July 10, 2026
Paperback Publication Date: ‎ July 27, 2026
Edition: ‎ 1st
Language: ‎ English
File size: ‎ 408 KB
Ebook Print Length: ‎ 92 pages
Paperback Print Length: ‎ 104 pages
Ebook ISBN-13: ‎ 979-8234141620
Paperback ISBN-13: 979-8-234-14163-7
BISAC Categories: Fiction General, Visionary/Metaphysical Science Fiction

Publisher Categories: Upmarket Speculative Fiction, Metaphysical/Visionary, Borders on Science Fiction

Tags: non-linear, abstract, red carnation, flower, reincarnation, death, rebirth, cycles, life cycles, environment, meditation, observation, consciousness, memory, memory loss, recognition, identity, existence, interconnectedness, transformation, time, timelessness, perception, reality, alternate realities, parallel lives, spirituality, metaphysical, existential, symbolism, synchronicity, recognition, belonging, human connection

Pricing Details

Ebook‏: ‎ $6.99
Paperback: ‎ $9.99

Availability

Amazon: ‎ Paperback, Kindle Ebook, Kindle Unlimited until October 7, 2026
Ingram Distribution: ‎Paperback Only

Comp Titles

The Midnight Library
alternate lives / philosophical inquiry

The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells
literary intimacy / connections across lives

The Celestine Prophecy
consciousness / synchronicity / metaphysical readership

About The Author

Kimberly Kradel is an artist, photographer, writer, and former tech engineer. Her work explores creativity, technology, consciousness, and the quiet connections that exist between people, nature, and the unseen. She is the founder of Observation Deck Press and the author of ‘red carnation’, a contemplative novella blending literary fiction with speculative ideas. When she isn’t writing, she’s usually behind a camera, making art, or happily disappearing into libraries, museums, and long conversations about how the world works.